Portable personal seating barrier

ABSTRACT

A portable, personal seating barrier constructed of panels, capable of demarcating an individual seating space while also blocking out sensory stimuli from other people in close proximity, is described. In certain embodiments, the panels retract and expand telescopically, through hinging, folding down through a locking or other hinge type mechanism or other folding means, into an easily portable device that can be used in a variety of settings, such as public buses, trains, airplanes, classrooms. The device is free-standing in that it need not be physically attached to any structure, and thus provides a seat and a privacy/sensory barrier from others.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 61/515,368 filed Aug. 5, 2011, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Studies have shown that most people value their personal space, findphysical proximity to be psychologically and in some cases physicallydisturbing and uncomfortable, and feel discomfort, anger, anxiety andother effects when their personal space is encroached or they are overstimulated because of crowded conditions. In addition, studies haveshown that heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance increasewhen people are in crowded spaces or spaces that they anticipate willbecome crowded where they have little or no control over maintainingtheir personal space and level of stimulation. Public places are oftencrowded and are becoming more so. In public places where seating isavailable, individual seating spaces are often not demarcated or aredemarcated but not physically divided. Often people will encroach intowhat is intended to be the space of the person seated next to them.Theatres, sporting events, institutions of formal education and testing,and governmental service locations are a few of the many examples ofpublic places with crowded seating conditions. Public transportationvehicles are also examples of public spaces that are often crowded, withcrowded seating conditions. Subways, cars, airplanes, trains, buses, andother modes of public transportation often allow little space for eachindividual. For example, in many subway cars, the seats are of a benchstyle. Though each individual space is often marked in some manner,often no armrests, dividers, or barriers exist between individualseating spaces, or if they do, they are often inadequate to ensure thateach person remains within one space and does not encroach physically,or in some other manner, on the space of the person beside them. Oneseated passenger may eat, engage in personal grooming, cough, sneeze,physically rub against, stare, and otherwise provide unwanted stimuli tothe person beside whom they are seated. There have even been cases ofpassengers urinating on bench seats with the urine running onto the seatand person seated next to them and of passengers vomiting and bleedingon passengers seated beside them.

People with diagnosed and undiagnosed disorders or conditions (or both)that compromise the brain's ability to process and integrate certaininformation received from the body's five basic sensory systems can beespecially impacted by having to sit in close proximity to others or incrowded situations, or both. Such sensory processing and integrativeproblems, comprising but not limited to learning disabilities, autismspectrum disorders, stress-related disorders, anxiety disorders,attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, post traumatic stressdisorder, and brain injury are found in many children and adults. Insome cases, people with at least one of these conditions or disordersare not capable of being in situations where the person is likely orcertain to be in the conditions described above. This can mean thatthese people are unable to conduct certain activities, for example usepublic transportation. Because many of these people are also unable todrive, this lack of ability to have control over the proximity orstimulation in the crowded seating situation renders them withoutaffordable, reliable transportation, greatly limiting their employmentand other opportunities. People without these disorders and conditionsare usually sensitive to stimulation created by people in close physicalproximity, even though some are not consciously aware of the effects.

SUMMARY

The instant disclosure is directed to a personal seating barrier thatcan block or lessen certain sensory stimuli and demarcate and preserveindividual space. In some embodiments, such a personal seating barriermay comprise a portable seat with at least one attached divider that cansimultaneously provide privacy and block out stimuli. In someembodiments, the personal seating barrier may be foldable in a mannerwhich facilitates travel and ease of use in a variety of locations. Insome embodiments, a separate carrying case may be provided with thepersonal seating barrier.

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosed personal seating barrier maycomprise: a device for providing portable seating comprising: at leastone horizontal panel section and at least one vertical panel sectionconstructed so as to be pivotally joined by a folding means, wherein theat least one horizontal panel section constructed so as to serve as theseat portion of the device, wherein at least one vertical panel sectionconstructed so as to serve as a barrier.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection is attached to opposite sides of the at least one horizontalpanel section.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection and the at least one horizontal panel section further comprisesa polymer material, said polymer material constructed so as to providestructure to the device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the polymer material isbioresistant.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the structure is selected from agroup comprising a rigid polymer and a semi-rigid polymer.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the device is constructed so as tofold into a unitary portable structural unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one horizontal panelsection is further constructed so as to include at least one individualpanel, grooved sections and cut out handles, said individual panelsconstructed so as to connect through a locking telescoping mechanism.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection and at least one horizontal panel section further comprise ahybrid cloth material, the hybrid cloth material constructed so as toprovide structure to the device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the hybrid cloth material isbioresistant.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one horizontal panelsection is further constructed so as to include individual panels.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one horizontal panelsection includes grooved sections.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one horizontal panelsection includes cut out handles.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one horizontal panelsection is constructed so as to connect through a locking telescopingmechanism.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection includes grooved sections.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection includes a cut out handle.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one vertical panelsection is constructed so as to connect through a locking telescopingmechanism.

The foregoing summary should not be construed to limit the scope of theinvention, which is defined by the claims appended hereto. It should beapparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments thus describedmay be further modified without departing from the spirit or the scopeof such claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable personal seating barrier in afully extended position, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portable personal seating barrier in apartially extended position, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portable personal seating barrier in acollapsed position, in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a portable personal seating barrier in acollapsed position, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The instant disclosure is directed to a portable personal seatingbarrier. The portable personal seating barrier comprises at least onepanel configured to block out sensory stimuli from other people in closeproximity and at least one folding means configured to interconnect thepanels. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatembodiments of the disclosed portable personal seating barrier may beconfigured to utilize any number of panel sections interconnected by atleast one folding means, and embodiments of the instant disclosure arecontemplated for use with any number of panel sections and foldingmeans.

According to an embodiment, each panel may be comprised of at least onelocking telescoping mechanism or other collapsing means provided toallow for the collapsing and expanding of the panels. Lockingtelescoping means include, but are not limited to, tab/detent means,friction fit means, friction locking means, pin locking means andlocking hinge means. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciatethat there are numerous types of locking telescoping means that could beutilized with portable personal seating barriers as disclosed herein,and portable personal seating barriers as disclosed herein arecontemplated for use with any locking telescoping means.

According to an embodiment, in a collapsed state, the panels allow forportability and stowage of the device. In an expanded state, the panelsallow for stimuli reduction. Embodiments may also allow each panel to beindividually expanded or collapsed to allow the user to customize thebarrier to his or her body type, needs, and surroundings. Further,embodiments of the disclosed personal portable seating barrier may alloweach panel to be partially expanded and for each panel to be partiallycollapsed, thereby further enhancing the customization options, such asin cases where size limitations may restrict full expansion of at leastone the panels. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatthere are numerous types of collapsing means that could be utilized withembodiments of the disclosed personal portable seating barrier, andalthough the embodiments disclosed herein focus on the use of a lockingtelescoping mechanism, the alternative collapsing means may besubstituted therefore without departing from the spirit or the scope ofthe disclosure.

According to some embodiments, the folding means may be configured toallow the device to collapse into a compact state for portability andstowage purposes. Folding means include, but are not limited to, activeand passive hinges and other hinged means, hook and loop means, bendablematerial means, and bolt and pin means. One of ordinary skill in the artwould appreciate that there are numerous folding means that could beutilized with the disclosed portable personal seating barrier, and thedisclosed embodiments are contemplated for use with any type of foldingmeans.

According to some embodiments, the device may be further configured toprovide a seating portion. The seating portion may be configured to notonly provide comfortable seating to the user, but also to providestability and control over the entire device. By way of example, withoutlimitation, when a user of the device is seated on the seating portion,the side panel(s) of the device may be stabilized by the weight of theuser.

According to some embodiments, at least one of the panels may furthercomprise a handle element. The handle element is configured to allow theuser of the device to easily transport the device when in a collapsedstate or otherwise. Such a handle element may be cut out of at least oneof the panels, or such handle element may be fixedly or removablyattached thereto.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, device D includes two panelsections 1 and 2 pivotally joined by a folding means 3. A horizontalrigid panel section 1 serves as a seat portion of device D. Section 1includes individual panels 1 a, each of which comprises grooved sections1 b and cut out handles 1 c. Panels 1 a are connected through a lockingtelescoping mechanism 1 d. Vertical rigid panel section 2 serves as abarrier portion of the device D, and includes individual panels 2 a,each of which comprises grooved sections 2 b and cut out handles 2 c.Panels 2 a are connected through a locking telescoping mechanism 2 d.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, device D can be made portableby retracting panels 1 a and 2 a telescopically using the telescopingfeatures 1 d and 2 d.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, device D is illustrated in an Lshape. Alternatively, the orientation of the device D could be that of abackward L shape. In some embodiments, Device D may also include asecond vertical section on the opposite side of horizontal section 1from the vertical section 2 illustrated in FIG. 1, thereby forming a Ushape when the portable personal seating barrier is deployed. In someembodiments, a plurality of L shaped devices could be deployed, therebyforming a U-shaped barrier, extending the size of the zone protected bythe portable personal seating barriers, or the like.

According to some embodiments, at least one carrying strap may beattached to the panels for ease of carry when not in use. Such acarrying strap may be permanently or removably attached to the panels byway of premade holes, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or other suchmeans. Panels can be of different colors or designs, and may be coveredwith stickers, fabric, or other material for hygienic, personalization,comfort, or other purposes. As illustrated in the exemplary embodimentof FIG. 1, a gel cushion, padding, or other material may be providedwith the portable personal seating barrier, thereby enhancing thecomfort of the user. In some embodiments, at least one of the panelsused for the seat portion may comprise a gel cushion, foam pad, or othersuch material to allow the panel to conform to the underlying seat,thereby enhancing stability and comfort. In some embodiments, at leastthe lower surface seat portion may be coated with silicone rubber orother “non-skid” material.

As should be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art, there aremany readily available locking hinge type mechanisms that could serve asa folding means 3. They include, but are not limited to, infinitevariable friction joints, friction catches, latch mechanisms, toothcatches, ratchet hinges, riveted angle brackets, clamp locks, bar andhook locks, and 180 degree hinges. In embodiments deploying such hingetype mechanism, the folding means may be locked into place via saidlocking hinge type mechanisms. One of ordinary skill in the art wouldappreciate that there are numerous locking hinge type mechanisms thatcould be utilized with the disclosed portable personal seating barrier,and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use withany type of locking hinge type mechanism.

In some embodiments, the panel sections 1 and 2 of device D, and theirindividual panels 1 a and 2 a, are made of a semi-rigid plastic polymermaterial. In some embodiments, such a material may be inherentlybioresistant, or may be treated with at least one surface coatings thatprovide such bioresistance. One of ordinary skill in the art shouldappreciate that there are numerous materials that could be utilized forthe various components of disclosed embodiments, and the disclosedembodiments are contemplated for use with any construction material.

In some embodiments, instead of a locking telescoping mechanism, panels1 a could be connected through a hinge-type mechanism, and panels 2 acould also be connected through a hinge-type mechanism.

In some embodiments, the dimensions of the seat barrier are such thatthe device D may fit into commercial or public transit vehicles withease. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill, such dimensionsmay vary. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the overalldimensions of panels 1 a and 2 a, when in a collapsed state, isapproximately 14 in. wide and 11 in. long. Additional sub-panels can beadded to both the horizontal section 1 and vertical section 2, dependingon preference and need.

Turning now to FIGS. 3-4, an exemplary embodiment of a personal seatingbarrier (device D) is shown in a fully collapsed state. In thesefigures, all of the vertical panels 2 and horizontal panels 1 of deviceD are lowered into a collapsed state and retained in a folded positionby folding means 3. In this state, the device D is configured to take upas little space as possible and thereby becoming easily transportableand storable where necessary.

While multiple embodiments of the portable personal seating barrier aredisclosed herein, still other embodiments will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from this detailed description. The portable personalseating barrier disclosed herein is capable of myriad modifications invarious obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to beregarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

1. A device for providing portable seating comprising: at least onehorizontal panel sections and at least one vertical panel sectionsconstructed so as to be pivotally joined by a folding means, wherein theat least one horizontal panel sections constructed so as to serve as theseat portion of the device, wherein said at least one vertical panelsection constructed so as to serve as a barrier.
 2. The device asrecited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the vertical panel sectionsare attached to opposite sides of the at least one horizontal panelsections.
 3. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least onevertical panel sections and the at least one horizontal panel sectionfurther comprises a polymer material, said polymer material constructedso as to provide structure to the device.
 4. The device as recited inclaim 2, wherein the polymer material is bioresistant.
 5. The device asrecited in claim 3 wherein said structure is selected from a groupcomprising a rigid polymer and a semi-rigid polymer.
 6. The device asrecited in claim 4, wherein said device is constructed so as to foldinto a unitary portable structural unit.
 7. The device of claim 1,wherein at least one of the at least one horizontal panel sections arefurther constructed so as to include individual panels, grooved sectionsand cut out handles, said individual panels constructed so as to connectthrough a locking telescoping mechanism.
 8. The device as recited inclaim 1, wherein at least one vertical panel section and at least onehorizontal panel section further comprise a hybrid cloth material, thehybrid cloth material constructed so as to provide structure to thedevice.
 9. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein the hybrid clothmaterial is bioresistant.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the at least one horizontal panel sections are furtherconstructed so as to include individual panels.
 11. The device of claim1, wherein at least one of the at least one horizontal panel sectionsinclude grooved sections.
 12. The device of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the at least one horizontal panel sections include cut outhandles.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at leastone horizontal panel sections are constructed so as to connect through alocking telescoping mechanism.
 14. The device of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the at least one vertical panel sections include groovedsections.
 15. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of thevertical panel sections include cut out handles.
 16. The device of claim1, wherein at least one of the vertical panel sections are constructedso as to connect through a locking telescoping mechanism.